Combination locking device for transmissions of automobiles.



D. W. WILT. COMBINATION LOCKING DEVICE FOR TRANSMISSIONS 0F AUTOMOBILES. APPLICATION FILED JAN. 16, 1912.

1,1 18,253. Patented Nov. 24, 1914.

JJ/Wi /7%7 Witnesses- Attorneys,

THE NORRIS PETERS 60., PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, n. c

DORAI-I W. WILT, OF UNIVERSITY PLACE, NEBRASKA.

COMBINATION LOCKING DEVICE FOR TRANSMISSIONS OF AUTOMOBILES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 24:, 1%)14.

Application filed January 16, 1912. Serial No. 671,461.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Don/r11 WV. WILT, a citizen of the United States, residing at University Place, in the county of Lancaster and State of Nebraska, have invented a new and useful Combination Locking Device for Transmissions of Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to locks adapted to be applied to the transmission controlling 1evers of motor vehicles, one of the objects of the invention being to provide a lock of this character which is simple in construction and which can be readily shifted into or out of locking position along the lever, there being means upon the lock casing for engaging the guide or segment of the lever so as to hold said lever in neutral position.

Another object is to provide a permutation lock the controlling knob of which can be manipulated both for the purpose of unlocking the closure of the casing and for shifting the bolt of the lock out of active or engaging position. 7

Another object is to provide a lock of this character which is of simple construction and which can be readily applied to the ordinary types of transmission levers now in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appearas the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In'the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings:-Figure 1 is a front elevation of the lock. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation thereof and showing a portion of the transmission lever engaged thereby. Fig. 3 is an inner elevation of the casing of the lock and of the parts carried by said closure the innermost disk being removed and the bolt being shown in section. Fig. at is a view partly in section and partly in elevation showing the device applied to a lever. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the bolt shifting member. Fig. 6 is an elevation of the main tumbler and the inner end of the stem of the knob. Fig. 7 is an elevation of one of the other tumblers. Fig. 8 is an elevation of'one of the spacing washers.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, 1 designates the lock casing the back of which is adapted to contact with and slide along the transmission lever A. The casing is held to the lever by means of a plate 2 and tie bolts 3 or the like which connect the side portions of the plate 2 to the casing. Lever A extends between the casing and the plate and said plateand casing are designed to move together longitudinally of the lever. The lower end of the casing 1 has tongues or projections A depending therefrom and these are designed, when the casing is in its lowermost position on the lever A to extend into the guide segment of the lever while the lever is in neutral position, and thus hold said lever against movement out of neutralposition until after the casing has been raised so as to withdraw the tongues or projections from the guide segment.

Upper and lower recesses 5 and 6 respectively are formed in that face of lever A on which the casing 1 is mounted and either of these recesses is adapted to receive a sliding bolt- 7 mounted in the back wall of the casing 1 and having an upstanding lug 8 within the casing. This bolt may be provided with a laterally extending arm 9 mounted between guides 10 which extend from the door or closure 11 of the casing and a spring, such as indicatedlby dotted lines at 12, may be arranged between the guides 10 so as to bear against arm 9 and hold the bolt 7 normally projected from the casing 1.

The door 11 is hingedly connected to the casing but these hinges are preferably concealed when the door is closed, as shown by dotted lines at 13 in Fig. 1. The hinges may be of any construction desired. A flange 14 extends inwardly from that edge of door 11 remote from the hinges 13 and this flange is slotted longitudinally, as shown at 15, so as to receive a locking tongue such as will be hereinafter described. A lug 16 is provided in thecasing lat that side thereof remote from hinges 13 and has a slot extending thereinto from the bottom thereof as shown at 17. p

A dial plate 18 is secured upon the outer face of the closure 11 and secured to the inner face of said closure is a plate 19 having an arcuate flange 20 extending partly therearound, said flange being provided, in its uppermost portion, with an opening 21. Plate 19 is concentric with an opening 22 formed in the closure 11 and fitted in this opening and held against rotation in any suitable manner is a barrel 23 having a longitudinal groove Mounted for rotation in the barrel 23 is the cylindrical stem 25 of a knob 26 and projecting from the inner end of the stem 25 and beyond the barrel 23, is an elongated elliptical cam 27. Tumblers 23 are loosely mounted on the barrel 23 and interposed between them are station ary washers 29 having inwardly extending lugs 30 which project into the groove 24. The tumblers 28 have notches 31 extending thereinto from their peripheries and pins may be located wherever desired upon the faces of the disks, the same being similar to those ordinarily employed in permutation looks.

A main tumbler 33 is fitted on the cam 27 and close to the end of the barrel 23 and this tumbler is of slightly greater diameter than the tumblers 28 and is held assembled with the stem 25 by means of a "holding pin 34. A substantially V-shaped recess 35 is formed in the peripheral portion of the main tumbler 33 and a pin 36 extends from one face of said tumbler and is adapted to engage one of the pins on the next adjoining tumbler 28 during the movement of said tumbler 33.

A pair of washers or spacing disks 37 are mounted on the cam 27 between the pin 34 and an additional retaining pin 38 which is similar to the pin 34. Slidably mounted on the cam 27 and between these washers or disks 37 is a plate 39 having a keyhole slot 40. A finger 41 extends upwardly from the plate and is adapted to extend into the opening 21. This finger has a pin 42 extending perpendicularly therefrom and adapted normally to rest upon the peripheral portion of the main tumbler 33. l/Vhen the pin is thus mounted, the cam 27 ex tends through the eye portion of the slat 40 and is thus free to rotate inasmuch as said eye portion is of a diameter slightly greater than the longest diameter of the cam 27. A shifting wing 43 is formed at the bottom of the plate 39 and is adapted to travel between the lug 8 and the back of the casing 1, this shifting wing being bent to constitute a cam so that, when the plate 39 is partly rotated, said wing 43 will shift the lug S and the bolt 7 toward the closure 11 of the casing and thus retract the bolt. A locking tongue 44 extends from one side of the plate 39 and, when the plate is in its raised position, this tongue projects into the slot 17 in lug 16 and thus secures the closure 11 in closed position. The closure 11 can, if desired, be provided with a screw 45 for fastening it in closed position, this screw being employed in addition to the tongue 44 and lug 16 hereinbefore de scribed.

It is to be understood that under normal conditions the bolt 7 is projected into the recess 5 and the tongues or projections 4 are thus elevated out of engagement with the guide segment of the lever A. It is also designed to have the tumblers all set normally, with the pins 42 seated in the recesses 35 and 31, with plate 39 in its lowermost position so that the cam 27 is seated in the stem of slot 40, and the finger 41 lowered out of the opening 21. At the same time the tongue 44 is out of engagement with lug 16 and, if desired, the closure 11 can thus be opened simply by removing the screw 45. When it is desired to lock the lever A while in neutral position, the stem 25 is turned and, as the cam 27 is seated in the stem of slot 40, it will be apparent that said cam will cause the plate 39 to rotate with the stem 25. Thus the shifting wing 43 will wedge between the back of easing 1 and the lug 8 and will cause the bolt 7 to be retracted into the casing and out of the recess 5. At the same time tongue 44 will swing downwardly within slot 15 and the finger 41 will swing under the areuate flange 20. As soon as bolt 7 has thus been retracted, the casing 1 can be moved downwardly until the tongues or projections 4 are seated in the guide segment whereupon, by turning back the stem 25, shifting wing 43 can be partly or entirely withdrawn from between the back of casing 1 and lug 8 and spring 12 will thus be free to project the bolt 7 into the recess 6. Thus the casing will be held against upward movement. By continuing to rotate stem 25. backwardly, the cam 27 will turn slightly within the stem of slot 40, this movement being sufficient to permit one wall of the V-shaped slot 35 to work under the pin 42 and shift it and the plate 39 upwardly. Thus the pin will be lifted out of the recesses 31 and the stem 25 can then be rotated so as to shift the various tumblers 28 out of register. The lever thus becomes securely locked and cannot be unlocked unless the parts are adjusted by a person acquainted with the combination. To unlock the lever the stem 25 is rotated by means of knob 26 so as to cause the pin 36 on the main tumbler 33 to first shift one tumbler and then the other until all of the notches 31 are in alinement. The tumbler 33 is then brought with its recess 35 in alinement with the recesses 31 whereupon pin 42 will drop into the registering recesses and the plate 39 will move downwardly. The operation hereinbefore described can then be repeated for the purpose of retracting bolt 7 from recess 6. Attention is called to the fact that the main tumbler 33 is of greater diameter than the other tumblers. Thus the pin 42 is held out of the recesses 31 until all of said recesses are brought into register. Thus it becomes impossible to work the combination by listening for the clicks which would be produced should it be possible for the pin 42 to drop into each notch or recess 31 as it is brought into proper position.

What is claimed is l. The combination with a lock casing, and permutation mechanism carried thereby, said mechanism including an actuating element, of a locking element mounted in and movable transversely of the casing, a plate having an elongated laterally ofiset cam-like shifting wing normally supported by the permutation mechanism out of engagement with the locking element, and means operated by said mechanism for successively releasing the plate to bring the wing into engagement with the locking element and for rotating the plate and wing to shift the locking element transversely of the plane of movement of the plate and out of normal position.

2. The combination with a lock casing, a locking device movably mounted therein, and a closure, of permutation mechanism within the casing and carried by the closure, a plate normally supported in a predetermined position by the permutation mechanism and having a cam-like shifting wing and a locking tongue, means in the casing for engagement by said tongue when in normal position, means operated by said permutation mechanism for successively releasing and rotating the plate, said plate when released, being adapted to gravitate into engagement with the locking device and out of engagement with the casing and, when rotated, being adapted to shift the locking device out of normal position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signa ture in the presence of two witnesses.

DORAH lV. WILT.

Witnesses:

ALBERT R. Lone, CALEB E. Nneos.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner 0! Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

